Let’s talk vintage drum catalog “inserts”. Before the internet, and way back in the early 20th century, most drum manufacturers relied on their yearly, bi-yearly or tri-yearly catalogs to act as most of their advertisement. The problem with that, sometimes, was that new products were constantly being adding to their brand lineup. That being said, inserts were a deemed necessity.
Let’s back up a little more. The budget for catalog production was, in most instances, the largest cut into the yearly profits allocated for advertising. Sure, they sent out flyers, countertop displays and banners to authorized dealers, but putting together a full catalog of all their current wares was a massive task and the largest advertising expenditure by far.
That brings me to my next point. From the time the next year’s catalog is conceptualized until print, it could be weeks or even months. During that time, as they manufactured or added new products they would often times not make copy deadlines for the catalog printing. So was born the “insert”!
The insert highlighted in my column this month is one of the earliest known examples. It was actually in the 1909 Leedy edition as well as their 1910. Perhaps they had extra, and, well, wasting print was wasting money. Leedy named this insert very appropriately; “Some More Good Things”, which is exactly what it showcased.
This is a beautiful, well executed insert and is only 4.5” x 6” so as to fit in the small catalogs of the period. It is also only eight pages long, and as inserts go, one of the longest, page count wise. Going forward most were only a single sheet, front and back.
Now, I don’t want to confuse “inserts” with “supplemental” catalogs, they are two different species and serve a different function. We will dive into “supplemental” catalogs in my next column in the next issue of NSMD. Until then, as always, thank you for reading my work, and I always appreciate the comments, suggestions, feedback and discussions.
Thank you!!!
Stay tuned…
Edward Tucker
Studio 3T
Edward Tucker’s Catalog Corner 1909 Leedy Insert: “Some More Good Things”
